Steelmen sack boss Mills

Jon Dunham

Gary Mills feels it is a “shame” he won’t get the chance to try to finish the job of keeping Corby Town up after he was sacked by the club today (Sunday).

Less than 24 hours after the Steelmen had dropped back into the bottom four of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier Division, Mills was shown the door at Steel Park after just less than six months at the helm.

Academy director Steve Kinniburgh has been appointed as temporary manager for the remainder of the season and his reign will start with the NFA Hillier Cup final against his former club Kettering Town at Sixfields on Tuesday night.

Mills replaced Tommy Wright in October with the Steelmen second-from-bottom in the table and while he tried to build a new-look squad, results continued to struggle up to the point at which they were 12 points adrift and rock-bottom after a 4-0 defeat at Grantham Town on Boxing Day.

However, a stunning turnaround which included a run of one defeat in 11 games at the start of the year, helped Corby move out of the drop-zone and give them hope of avoiding a second relegation in a row.

But results dipped again over the last month and yesterday’s defeat stretched a barren run to five matches without a win.

In confirming Mills’ departure, the club released a short statement and said: “We have let Gary go and we wish him all the best and thank him for his efforts.”

Mills believes he has proven he has what it takes to be a manager at the level and also admitted he has previously considered his own position in recent weeks, due to what he described as “one or two things behind the scenes”.

“I am obviously surprised because I think I have taken the club a long way from where it was when I came in,” Mills said.

“I had 14 contracted players, no first-team coach and no real infrastructure in place so that had to be put in place as well as building a team could win matches at this level.

“It’s been a tough job and it is a shame I didn’t get the chance to finish it off. I still believed we would get the points we needed.

“The club looked dead and buried when I went in and the very fact we gave ourselves a chance was an achievement in itself.

“I believe I built a decent team and I really want to thank the players for their efforts and hope that they can put the points on the board to keep them up.

“There were one or two things behind the scenes that didn’t sit right with me and I did consider my position on one occasion but I wanted to stay out of loyalty to the players.

“But I will be looking to get back into the game as soon as I can.

“I feel I have proven I can manage at this level and I believe I have shown that I have what it takes to build a team if I am given the time.”